Computers, such as personal computers, typically comprise a central processing unit (CPU), monitor, and various peripheral devices including a keyboard. In a typical installation, the monitor is placed on a desk or other elevated work surface and the keyboard and other peripheral devices are arranged around the monitor within hand's reach of the user. Often, the keyboard and other devices are placed on the user's desk or work surface and accordingly take up space thereon even when not in use. This arrangement limits the user's useful work area.
One approach to solving the above problem has been to position the keyboard on a tray which is stowed beneath the work surface when the keyboard is not in use. Such devices are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,237 to Stadtmauer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,867 to Cotterill, U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,367 to Musculus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,525 to Drabczyk et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,667 to Copeland et al. One drawback with the above-described approach is that the tray and keyboard may interfere with the user's leg room when they are stowed beneath the work surface. Another problem is that the tray may extend away from the work surface when the keyboard is in use, forcing the user to move away from the work surface and making other peripheral devices difficult to reach. Yet another problem is that the tray may have only a limited amount of motion beyond the motion required to move the tray horizontally toward and away from the working surface. Accordingly, it may be difficult for the user to move the tray to a comfortable position. This is particularly so where the user may wish to access the tray and keyboard from a sitting position on some occasions and from a standing position on other occasions. Still a further problem is that the cables necessary to couple the keyboard to the CPU may interfere with the motion of the tray.
One approach to solving the above problems has been to place the keyboard on a tray which slides inwardly and outwardly from a housing which is mounted beneath the monitor but above the work surface, as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,259 to Bartok. The device disclosed by Bartok may accordingly reduce the degree to which the tray interferes with the user's leg room. However, the Bartok device may still suffer from the additional drawbacks discussed above with reference to keyboard trays mounted beneath the working surface. Furthermore, the housing disclosed by Bartok is sized to accommodate both the keyboard and tray therein, and may accordingly raise the height of the monitor to an undesirable level.